CR Fashion Book: A Tribute To Dim Dam Dom
By Jessica Eritou

The inspiration and point of reference for the shoot "A Tribute to Dim Dam Dom," featured in the second issue of CR Fashion Book, is entirely based on the Sixties French television program Dim Dam Dom which is captured wonderfully by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Each model is wearing a stunning Sixties influenced Dolce & Gabbana dress in candy-colored tones, while all appear in the same lace up Brian Atwood pump and Eugenia Kim hat to provide harmony within the shot. This shot is a great one since it is simple and sets the tone for what to expect with the rest of the editorial.

The models wear head-to-toe sportswear influenced Alexander Wang and each sports a shag cut, while one is posed in the center as a ballerina embracing CR's overall theme of dance for the issue. The Wang pieces are too current and significant for the Sixties throwback with the rest of the editorial. By seeing the models dressed in Alexander Wang the reader is then reminded of his SS 2013 show and nothing else.

Next, a Jil Sander dress is featured with the model in a ballet styled pose. The Sixtes influence is evident with the dress, featuring a mod quality as it is a reconstructed shift dress. Carine Roitfeld reinvented the shot by incorporating a fresher makeup look with M.A.C. instead of doing the typical black liquid liner and pale lip which goes hand in hand with that era.

Following Jil Sander, the next shot features pieces by Chanel on the three girls and visors from Courreges. The colors are appropriately used, giving a sense of a Warhol pop art print with the hues of blue, white, and red. The cuts are represented well with identical shifts and mini skirts. The visors and the leather textures add a futuristic element to the work. Yet, once the viewer sees this shot they are automatically reminded of the era from which it was influenced.

Next some pieces are featured from the last collection by Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga. Much like the Alexander Wang pieces earlier in the editorial, this look is way too memorable from Ghesquière's collection to be considered a throwback for the Sixties since the Balenciaga skirts were seen everywhere since their debut last year.

Although Stephen Sprouse's work is memorable and iconic, it suits the time period that Carine Roitfeld is trying to reflect on. The coloring, the tailoring, and the shape are very mod. Of course, this piece features Sprouse's style of graffiti on canvas much like his earlier collection with Louis Vuitton which was sold out across the world.

Other highlights from this editorial are the Louis Vuitton models mixed with a ballerina dressed in Valentino. The juxtaposition (which Carine uses continually) between modern dancers and a classically trained ballerina are used beautifully in a composition filled with movement and dance. As well on the final page, almost like a finale of seeing a show, you have a model in Raf Simon's Dior paired with ballet flats as the rest of the models behind her are in very vintage inspired Michael Kors clothing due to the tailoring, cuts, and fabrics used.

The Sixties were a time of new changes in social norms and ideologies. Carine Roitfeld successfully emulates this by introducing reinvented shapes and colors from the time period but still providing a uniformity and tradition that was then prevalent among the mainstream American style of clothing.

[Editor's note: I also enjoyed the interview below from Who What Wear with Carine Roitfeld about the inspiration behind the editorial "A Tribute To Dim Dam Dom."]

Q&A with Carine Roitfeld

How did the concept for this editorial come together?
Each editorial is about one of my obsessions: I am obsessed with dance, ever since I met Marie-Agnes Gillot (who is featured in the issue) and decided to take lessons! When I am obsessed with something I am totally in it and want to know everything about it.

For people who have never seen Dim Dam Dom, how would you describe the television show and its fashion?
It was the first French TV show (in the 60s and 70s) dedicated to fashion. They asked Peter Knapp, the art director of French ELLE at that time, to look after it, and he changed the way of filming so it wasn't static anymore! I was very young, but l still remember some of the pieces! It was a revolution, like the mini skirt of the "sex revolution" of these years!

Were there specific elements of the show in particular that influenced the editorial?
A lot of the time, the models were dancing in groups! And the hair and makeup was very important! It was very controversial at that time, and always very graphic.

What was the concept behind the hair and makeup for the shoot?
I did not want a first-degree retrospective and the hair is from another period totally. It's dedicated to Stephen Sprouse. Odile Gilbert, our hair artist, did a lot of his shows and she brought some of her personal vintage dresses to the set.

There are multiple spring trends showcased in the editorial, such as bold black and white, sheer panels, and stripes. What is the one trend you're looking forward to wearing this season?
I always keep my personal style! I do like that next season there are a lot of clothes in neutral and skin-colored tones, which I like. And plastic transparent shoes, which are very popular this season.

What do you love most about working on CR Fashion Book?
The energy of all these new talents as well as how it crosses with art, and always my free spirit!

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Editorial images © 2013 CR Fashion Book.

CR Fashion Book: Dance with the Wind
By Dara Block

What is not to love about the spring issue of CR Fashion Book? The second publication is dedicated to the theme of dance and each editorial is a stunning combination of movement, fluidity, and spring 2013 fashion. It is difficult to pick a favorite layout because each one is so special and unique in its own artistic way, but if I had to choose one that captures my eye it would be "Dance With The Wind" photographed by Brigitte Niedermair. I was so glad to see that Carine Roitfeld chose Brigitte Niedermair again for the spring issue. I am still mesmerized by her "How Do Hue Do?" editorial from 2012... she certainly took creepy-chic to the next level with all those dynamic wigs and fall fashion. It's no surprise that in this issue Carine amps it up again by incorporating more cutting edge visual style. With all that said, let's take a look inside the pages of this gorgeous layout! 

The first image in the editorial features a backshot of model Sui He wearing a silk kimono and vintage obi from the Kimono House. I love the overall Japanese feel and that added element of her hair flowing in the wind. It looks as if nature itself is choreographing a dance with her hair. This is not your literal interpretation of dance, which I find so fascinating!

The next image features Sui He again and also model Soo Joo. This time, they are both dressed in Louis Vuitton. I love the way in which their bodies blend into each other. They look so unified and statuesque in their white ensembles and I love how Brigitte Niedermair captured their hair. There is so much fluidity and motion with their long tresses... looking very much like a dance, itself!

The following image features model Soo Joo once again, this time in a transparent Rick Owens dress and Jen Kao shoes. I love the body language she is giving to the camera and the way her hair looks as if it is taking over her body. There is some kind of agony and ecstasy with this image almost reminding me of choreographer Pina Bausch. I am not sure if Brigitte Niedermair was inspired by her dance style, but I can totally see a connection. Either way, I so appreciate how painfully-chic this looks.

What I admire most about Brigitte Niedermair is that she is able to find such strange beauty in the most mundane, much like this image. I love the way in which those hands are placed. It almost looks as if they are about to perform a dance. Perhaps, some kind of hand ballet. Visually, I love the angle at which this image is photographed and let's not forget that striking Dior ring. This is pure obscure-elegance, something at which Brigitte Niedermair excels!

Yet again, we see Soo Joo and Sui He modeling together. This time they are both camouflaged together in black. Soo Joo is wearing Hermès and Sui He is adorned in a black kimono from the Kimono House. I so love the way in which their bodies morph together and that stark contrast of their blonde and black hair. There is a painterly quality to this image and I love the dark ethereal aspect of it all. It's very noir, with a Japanese edge!

The following image is my favorite from the editorial. Soo Joo and Sui He virtually melt into each with their angelic hair. I can't help but be in awe of the fluidity of their locks. This is double-vision at its best… it's very rare to see such an image that looks so haunting and breathtaking at the same time. For some reason, it also reminds me of Madonna's 1998 Nothing Really Matters video. Perhaps, it has something to do with the overall Japanese look and the ebb and flow of this editorial, especially this image. Yes, it is a strange connection, but I see some striking similarities.

I think it is quite interesting how the editorial almost ends the way it started. Once more, we see Sui Hee in that very same kimono with her dazzling hair flowing, except this time, she has an elegant pair of hands grasping her around her neck. What that signifies will most likely remain a mystery, but I love the transcendental aspect of this photo... so mysteriously chic!

In general, I appreciate how this is not your literal interpretation of dance, but more about the forces of nature with spring fashion and Japanese culture. I am not sure what goes on inside Brigitte Niedermair's head, but I like the imagination and feminine perspective that she brings to CR Fashion Book. I don't know about you, but I certainly feel like dressing up in a kimono, straightening my hair, and pressing that start button on that wind machine... love it when an editorial has that effect. Brava to Brigitte Niedermair and Carine Roitfeld, for yet another remarkable editorial, this one is a true classic!

[Editor's note: To see more, view the short film The Silent Wave produced by Brigitte Niedermair during the photo shoot for the editorial "Dance with the Wind" exclusively for CR Fashion Book.]

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Editorial images © 2013 CR Fashion Book.

Carine On The Collections: The Animal Nursery
By Kristin Sekora

During her decade as editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld didn’t so much report fashion as blow it out of a gun at the reader, flashing crotches and breasts and famously having a model deep-throat a squid while holding a side of beef between her legs. Where then is she to land on the much tamer shores of Harper’s Bazaar? Even the GLOBAL Harper’s Bazaar? This remains to be seen.

In “The Animal Nursery” in the May issue, Carine emerges not with anything deep down a model’s throat but with her tongue deeply in her cheek, and very good and cheeky it is. The editorial is a funny “Models Without Borders: ‘We’ve got to save these baby animals even though we’re wearing million dollar clothes and we’re famous!’"

It is not a coincidence that the models are Ethiopian, Swedish, Korean, Russian, and American, just like a real group of Médecins Sans Frontières. The 17-page spread, lushly photographed by Sebastian Faena and edited by Michaela Dosamantes, both of whom work with Carine on CR Fashion Book, takes place in an ersatz tropical locale where the five beauties, all wonderfully coifed and made-up and manicured, hold delightful baby tigers, monkeys, and one tiny, adorable ocelot. They sit in director’s chairs surrounded by white canvas tents with large red crosses on them. In one scene (and, as is always the case with Carine Roitfeld, it is a “scene,” not a photo), Soo Joo Park, in a face mask and a nurse’s cap with a “V” (for “Louis Vuitton”?) on it, looks down in worry as Senait Gidey, also in a face mask, marches with determination as if to say, “Make way, we must get this baby ocelot to surgery immediately or she will die!”

There are other telling details that make it all the more funny, like the “waders” that Kate, Senait, and Soo Joo wear, almost like hazmat suits, but if you follow the credits you will find they are fishing gear. Or the Birkenstocks, which are not exactly jungle wear. And the animals! They play with the stethoscopes, climb into the wagons, or cuddle together just like, well, just like baby monkeys!

Carine Roitfeld knows how to make drama out of fashion but we start to notice that our girl is playing a game with us here, too, maybe not as in-our-faces as with her Vogue Paris, but something is going on while we are enjoying the sport… The tiger is being held in the arms of a woman wearing a tiger-printed shirt and the baby monkeys are wearing tiger- and zebra-striped diapers! A model wears a giraffe-printed coat by Burberry and a python-printed blouse.

Carine is famous for the pro-fur editorial “Reality Show” that she styled herself for Vogue Paris in August 2008, but she certainly is not in favor of using baby tiger or ocelot fur, which is illegal. And she would not have had the backing of the various wildlife preserves where the editorial was shot if she were insensitive to endangered species. It appears that all the “fur” fashion here is faux. I think Carine Roitfeld may be playing with the PETA crowd again, a kind of subterranean message, a repeat “gotcha,” only this time showing them, “Look, I get to play with all the tiger fur I want!” But here she is in tandem with the groups that preserve endangered species.

The clothes are extraordinary, particularly one dress by Dolce & Gabbana, you could picture Carine in this, it is the epitome of the pair’s combination of femininity with an edge: tweed with figure-skimming lace down the front, accessorized of course by the exquisite baby ocelot. Another dream item is a tawny faux-fur blouson and skirt by Reed Krakoff, a designer whose work I just discovered and who I really love, worn by Irina Shayk, whose rubber boot is being attacked by a playful baby tiger. A further hit is a wonderful outfit from Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, which looks like appliquéd lace and cotton. (Carine Roitfeld wore a Bambi Givenchy top with “Pop-Pois” net pants to the Met Gala.)

“The Animal Nursery” is a move on Carine’s part to bring her dramatic element to the Harper’s Bazaar fashion scene. As a first step it is refreshing and delightful but still tentative. It definitely made me want to buy Harper’s Bazaar. With such an iconic member of their editorial staff, I cannot resist. I await further work on the editorial front. And the day when Carine Roitfeld once again comes out guns blazing!

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"Carine Roitfeld on the Collections: The Animal Nursery" images © 2013 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The May 2013 issue of Harper's Bazaar En Español features Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on the cover and I love that the stylist, Nick Nelson, chose to punk up her look, she is fierce. The editorial is titled "Lo Mejor Del Estilo," or in English, "Best Style," as photographed by Michael Flores. The labels modeled by JRR include Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, and Valentino. What do you think, do you like this style for Julia?

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Julia Restoin-Roitfeld image © 2013 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.